Japan - A plan that works?

A snowHead

Booked flights last week for myself and Smigus Dyngus*

Better known as pigeondave but I think he deserves a name change

. Flying to Sapporo on 25th January (was limited by what dates I can have from work), so land around midday on Sunday 26th. Planning to hire a half decent car and get an AirBnB somewhere (Kutchan/Otaru/A.N Other town within reasonable striking distance of Niseko and other resorts), first day skiing on the Monday. Will probably only book accommodation for the first few days in advance, then try to see what conditions are like as to where we want to be. Would like to ski Niseko, Teine & Rusutsu, probably starting with Niseko as a bit more gradual intro to Japan as I understand it's a bit more 'Westernised' (or Antipodeanised, anyway). Effectively buying day passes dependent on where we want to be. If conditions look better then maybe move up to the Furano kind of area, but tbh I'd rather not spend too much of the holiday driving.

After 9 days skiing we'll fly to Tokyo on the 5th, spend a few days exploring there and fly back home on the Saturday.

So it's only really the bare bones of a plan, a little bit flexible according to how the weather pans out and if we like somewhere enough to stay for a bit longer. My main worry would be the ability to get accommodation at short notice on a reasonable budget, I was sort of allowing £75 a night for 2 of us, that's roughly assessed from what I've seen on airbnb, but tbh I have no real idea Very Happy

A snowHead

I'm not so sure about the Airb'n'b side of things, but I paid somewhere around €65 a night for a dorm bed in a hostel in Niseko, most places pretty booked up pretty early too. I think you might be better off picking a town (Otaru?) and driving daily. Furano was much quite than Niseko, and yes Rusutsu is definitely one to do.

I'm sure MikePow will be along to fill you in completely soon.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@rogg, when I spoke to admin about it he reckoned they didn't have much issue booking a few days ahead, but not sure he was on the same type of budget as me. Well keen on Rusutsu because nearly everyone I've spoken to said it was brilliant.

Only concern with being based in somewhere like Otaru is that it appears that it's quite a drive (circa 2 hours according to Google) from there to some resorts and I don't fancy doing that at the start and end of a day skiing. Although I know that Mike has recommended it as a good base previously. That's sort of why I was thinking about booking on the fly instead and can tailor it according to where we want to ski (and where is decent conditions).

You need to Login to know who's really who.

I’ll be doing a similar trip earlier in the season. Check out Kiroro near Otaru. Bigger than Sapporo Teine I believe. Could be ok for a couple of days.
Kutchan looks a good base for Niseko and Rusutsu.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I've only skied in Japan on organised tours, and on those Niseko, Otaru and Furano are considered as separate bases to ski from. Once there we then visited resorts around an hours drive from each.

Unfortunately I never got any powder at Niseko, Teine or Rusutsu, as I always visited last week of Feb, first week of March, and spring like conditions were in force. I always have my best/reliable powder skiing in and around the Furano area.

You'll need to Register first of course.

@SnoodlesMcFlude, My only suggestion is to start your trip in Tokyo to get over the jet lag rather than finish there. When you arrive at Tokyo airport go straight to the luggage forwarding company and ship all your ski gear to your destination hotel keeping just a carryon bag to lug around Tokyo.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

@johnE, having already booked the flights, not really an option, but also not the way I want to do it. Reckon time of flights on the way out will work reasonably well to get past jet lag.

Having stayed in both Otaru and Niseko my experience was:

Otaru:
- plentiful cheap, high quality accomodation
- excellent traditional food
- proper Japanese small city vibes
- 10-15mins from Tenguyama and Asari, which are both small, but quiet/cheap, and fun on a powder day
- 30-45mins from Kokusai and Kiroro which seem to be in a high altitude snow pocket - kokusai is good value - kiroro I found a bit expensive/resortified (i.e. pay extra to access the good slopes in the morning), but I didn't see it at its best as inbounds off piste areas were closed.
- 50mins - 1hr from Teine - good value and proper steep skiing.
- having a car is essential
- limited nightlife
- need a bit of local knowledge to get the best out of the nearby resorts, and guides are harder to come by than in Niseko - a fair bit off anti off piste signage, which is often ignored.

Niseko:
- the best place IMO for easy access, deep powder on a variety of terrains - few ropes and no anti off piste attitudes
- everybody knows it
- a lot of nice onsen within 20 mins drive from wherever you are in the area
- Accomodation very expensive and not great quality, unless you have serious cash - the good value places book up early
- Very over developed and expanding at a rate beyond what looks sustainable for the infrastructure, at least to me - hanazono has been good for quiet early morning powder, but they've just put in a monstrous hotel at the base, so that might have scuppered that. Think they're planning to expand the area though.
- have been twice and haven't had a problem with these 'bogans' that everybody talks about (maybe I am one - can you be an Irish bogan?) - did see a lot of very rude and entitled behaviour toward hotel/restaurant/onsen staff this year though - not from Japanese of course.

It's always a compromise, but you can't really lose. I can't speak for Furano or Rusutsu.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

@element, thanks for that. Definitely makes me happier that the idea of starting the trip somewhere towards Niseko is a good way to get a lie of the land.

I’m trying to approach the trip from the mindset that I’ve always wanted to go to Japan (long before I started skiing) so in the event of getting a dud (have spoken to people that have managed a 2 week trip with no snow) then it’s still going to be an awesome experience.

I’m sure nearer the time I’ll have many more practical queries and a bit on etiquette (both in resort and generally).

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@element, is pretty much on the money for Niseko, except personally I would say Rusutsu is better for off-piste. It's also a lot less busy on the slopes and feels more Japanese. The no off-piste signs are still there but only because they haven't bothered to remove them. It is very much a resort base though so not sure how many, if any, Airbnb options.

snow reports

You know it makes sense.

@Dave of the Marmottes, thanks for the tip! Surprisingly enough, it's the onsens and young ladies that he seems to be most looking forward to.

@Nickski, there are a few about if you don't mind being 30-40 minutes away, which I think should be about okay. It's once the travelling starts being more than an hour drive each way that I'm less keen on. Not restricted to AirBnB type stuff either, just that it's quite simple and good for a budget. It's not like either of us need it to be an absolute bargain of a trip, just don't particularly like spending money...oh and if I keep it cheap enough then I might still be able to tag the EoSB onto the season.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Otaru -Kiroro is an easy drive in good conditions. When it is dumping - not so much, sometimes difficult to see more than 10 m ahead of you ...

A snowHead

Get some Oakley Prizm hi-pink goggles as it's either snowing or it's flat light, or both Toofy Grin

A snowHead

@spyderjon, what’s the betting that whaddayaknow, you’ve got just the pair that would fit perfectly Laughing

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

You'll need to Register first of course.

@spyderjon, you'll be lucky, took me two seasons to flog those skis to Dave and he was still moaning about the price.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

Is it easy enough to pick up a PAYG Sim card? Like in a machine at the airport or something? Vodafone charge £6/day for roaming and I'd prefer not to spend that money unless I have to. Have seen somewhere online that I can purchase a card that provides unlimited data for 16 days, but it's unclear when that 16 days starts.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@mooney058, perfect, thank you. I really should have thought about looking on the airport website rolling eyes

snow reports

@SnoodlesMcFlude, no worries, that link is from 2017 but still seems to work. It was a 5-6 min trek with luggage to get to the machine, but nothing too difficult

@SnoodlesMcFlude, I bought one from a person at a desk in Chitose. Ended up not using it though as pretty much everywhere you go has good free WiFi.

You know it makes sense.

Plan now sort of changed but settled. Have reserved a car and booked first 3 nights at a hotel in Sapporo with the intention to start at Teine on day one and maybe day two, plus check out some of the Sapporo Ice Festival. If conditions seem reasonable I'm thinking try Sapporo Kokusai on day 3 and find some accommodation in Otaru for x number of nights. Check some of the areas including Kiroro and then head more towards Niseko or Makkari and spend the next few days skiing Niseko and Rusutsu.

All completely subject to change depending on weather and if we find somewhere we really like and want to stick for a few days. Accommodation probably going to be flying by the seat of our pants so may end up lumbered with a 'commute' or something expensive, but that's something I'm prepared to risk to allow for the flexibility.

Nearer the time I'll probably set up TR thread to keep updated and possibly a bit of 'lessons learnt' thing for others.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@SnoodlesMcFlude, please do: Japan is on my list for 2021 although I've never been before. I'd like to start somewhere "easy" where I can get into the flow of things and get some experience in really deep powder. After that maybe stay in a hostel somewhere cheap (Fall-Line have an article on their site about a week in Japan for £1k) then drive around a bit.

A snowHead

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@Whitegold

a bit fare away from Hokkaido.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@SnoodlesMcFlude, I've found that most accommodation in Japan can be refunded for free up until the day before (or a few days before). So if you're worried about cheap/convenient places selling out it might be worth making some speculative bookings.

Also, i'm going to be in Japan potentially in the same kind of area as you, on my own for the first week of your trip, if you fancy meeting up for a ski (I'm familiar with the main resorts around that area)

You'll need to Register first of course.

Not so worried about convenient selling out as prepared to drive a bit. I've effectively got 7 nights to sort out somewhere to stay so happy that we'll find something.

Always happy to meet and ski with fellow snowheads, especially if they've got a bit of local knowledge! There will be falling over though

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

What's that website that has all the Japanese ski resorts?

I've browsed it in the past. Can't seem to be able to find it again. Sad

After all it is free

Snow Japan or ski Japan, something like that.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Thanks so much, @Mike Pow.

Help!!

Japan - A plan that works?

snowHeads Forum Index >>> The Piste